The Transfer Tavern

Arsenal fans delighted with Koscielny’s returning performance

Loads of Arsenal fans flocked to laud their captain last night when Laurent Koscielny made his long-awaited return to first-team action. The defender started and played out 70 minutes in the club’s 1-0 home win over Qarabag and it was like he’s never missed a minute with the way he played.

Koscielny is now probably only a few weeks away from being able to play 90 minutes in the Premier League and when he returns to domestic action the fans will be buzzing. At the moment, the defender probably won’t be in contention to play the full match against Southampton, but the fact that he’s back and available for Unai Emery to use is amazing news for the Gunners, and they’ve been waiting a long time for it.

If Arsenal are to compete for a top-four finish then they will need to keep their top players fit, and Koscielny is certainly one of those. The Frenchman is the club captain and has a lot about him both on and off the pitch. At the veteran age of 33, the ex-Lorient man brings both calmness and composure to the pitch and he is no doubt a useful man to have around in the dressing room for the younger players.